Everything He Needed
by Sentimental Star
Summary: Life has a way of bringing you in contact with those that you need the most. Charlie Conway and Gordon Bombay are no exception…-NO Slash. Familyfic.-


**WARNING:** Implied (past) domestic violence. I took some creative liberties, since the franchise never really mentions what happened with Charlie's father other than the fact that they (Charlie and his mom) left him. I took the route that Casey may have wanted to protect him (herself, too).

_**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing here; the characters all belong to Disney.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hello, everyone! Yes, another long stretch of quiet, and not an update to a Narnia story, either. All of them are coming along _slowly_, but they are still being worked on ::grins::. I may post an Easter story soon, but for right now…I've finally managed to get this out—and I have wanted to for a while. It will be about three chapters long, and well worth the read, I hope!

_**Rating:**_T/M (possibly)

_**Summary:**_ Life has a way of bringing you in contact with those that you need the most. Charlie Conway and Gordon Bombay are no exception…(_NO_ Slash)

"_**Speech"**_

_**/Personal Thoughts/**_

_Everything He Needed_

_By Sentimental Star_

**Everything He Needed**

**Timeframe: _Mighty Ducks _(the first movie)**

In later years, when asked, Gordon Bombay would reply he fell in love with Charlie first. Certainly, Casey Conway was lovely, and charming, and protected her cub with all the fierceness of a mother bear, but quite frankly, she scared him witless sometimes.

Charlie had scared him another way. Even when his heart was all but dead and he thought for certain it had forgotten how to beat with anything but pain and misery, it still leapt in ways Gordon hardly understood when he was in the presence of the ten-year-old child who had given him a chance when he was sure he deserved none.

That not-so-long-ago afternoon in Mickey's Dining Car, after Charlie had rushed out in tears, Gordon had looked at his life with fresh, young eyes and realized he didn't like the direction any of it was going in.

Things changed, then.

Charlie, quite without knowing it, had given him courage, and fresh insight. He had been able to stand up to both Ducksworth and Reilly when the time came, and had been able to speak with the children who—even now—were completely turning his life around. More importantly, Charlie had renewed his sense of self-worth which, before now, had been ground into the dirt. He had given him the ability to hope, and love again. That alone would have endeared the ten-year-old to him for all time.

Then things started changing between he and Casey: he had, of course, respected the woman greatly—now, though, he thought he might even love her.

This first-date-that-wasn't-really-a-date had opened his eyes to something else, however—she had more layers and levels to her than he had ever imagined.

To some degree he understood it: being a single mother was difficult; he knew that from firsthand experience. But she had been hurt so many times, had seen _Charlie_ hurt so many times—she was hesitant to even befriend him.

Gordon wished he'd been able to say more to her, something other than "I'm glad I'm here with you." Wished he'd been able to do more than stupidly gape at her when she had launched into her worries about the effect all this was having on Charlie (and her, although that wasn't mentioned).

He'd been flattered when Casey mentioned Charlie was "absolutely falling in love" with him (and more than a little certain that he had done nothing to earn it), but he hadn't been able to make her see that Charlie was the reason he'd had the courage to ask her out at all. Ten years? Give him the rest of his life and maybe by then he'd have done something to merit that child's unconditional trust and love.

It was a commitment, no matter how one looked at it. And (in Gordon's personal opinion) that was even scarier than imagining how the rest of his life may play out, especially now that he no longer worked for Ducksworth. He never wanted to do anything that might damage the sensitive child who had so easily wormed his way into his heart.

"We're here," Casey's voice jolted him out of his thoughts and he pulled up short to find that they had already arrived at her apartment. She started hunting around in her pockets, muttering to herself, "My keys, my keys, where did I put my keys?"

Gordon had to bite back a small (albeit slightly strained) smile. She was flushed, still flustered from their time spent together at the Winter Festival.

Gently, he touched her shaking hand, murmuring quietly, "Have you checked your jeans pocket?"

She paused. Stared at him for a moment (and at the hand still covering hers), before checking said pocket; she emerged seconds later with her keys in hand.

Casey blushed. "Right. Um…sorry. I'm just-"

But he never found out what she had wanted to say. As the door (which she had been fiddling with) suddenly swung open, they were greeted by a sound no parent ever wants to hear: their child's screams.

IOIOIOIOIOI

Without so much as a glance exchanged between them, both Gordon and Casey bolted into the darkened apartment, colliding with furniture, doors, and each other until Gordon started flicking on lamps and light switches as he went.

"Which one's Charlie's room?" Gordon called to her as she slammed on the dining room lights. He plunged into the short hallway that had just emerged on his right.

"Second one on the left!"

Quickly, Gordon made his way down the corridor. When Casey turned up the lights behind him, he easily spotted his destination and darted straight in. "Charlie-!"

He switched on the lights in the boy's room and immediately spun around to find the child in question twisting and sobbing in the throes of sleep. "No! _No_! Let her _go_! Let her go, _please_-!"

When Charlie screamed again, Gordon found himself at the child's bedside, having not even blinked.

"_Charlie_-!" he grabbed the child's shoulders, attempting to shake him awake.

A scream and a sob later, and Gordon realized he perhaps should have been a bit gentler: Charlie thrashed awake, screaming and sobbing incoherently.

Casey was there immediately, hushing and rocking her son as she held him close to her heart. "Shhh, shhh. It's all right, baby…it's really all _right_—"

As a stunned Gordon watched, Charlie started crying hysterically. "Mom! _Mom_!"

"Shhh, baby, shh, he can't find us here…he's dead…"

"Casey?" Gordon finally asked.

Casey merely shook her head, continuing to rock Charlie and kiss his forehead. "Shhh, baby, shh…"

IOIOIOIOIOI

Her last words to him that night, as she saw him to the door, would stay with him throughout the difficult year ahead and long after they had stopped seeing each other, "You're good for him, Gordon. Never doubt about that."

_Tbc._


End file.
